In the digital age, individuals and corporations rely heavily on specialty software to perform tasks in less time and with more efficiency. The complexity of specialty software has increased over time, driven in part by increasing processor capability as well as increasing display device size and resolution. Specialty software may be so large and complex that a user may spend several years working with the specialty software before becoming fully comfortable with available features. In some cases, a particular end result may be achieved using specialty software by two or more non-identical series of steps. That is, non-identical paths defined by a series of steps may have equivalent results, but one of the non-identical paths may be better in some way (e.g., less time, fewer steps).
The complexity of some specialty software, in combination with the exposure time needed to achieve proficiency, leads to difficulties in gaining knowledge about use of the specialty software, and transferring knowledge among users.